When we planned this trip to the Pacific Northwest, I expected rainy weather – but every day so far has been just beautiful!  Clear skies, cool temperatures in the morning and warming gently by afternoon.  And luckily for us, today was no exception.  We arrived at Butchart Gardens bright and early before the crowd, although even by the time we left it was not too crowded.  One of the advantages of traveling in the off season!

The garden was developed in a former limestone mine and has grown over its more than 100 years of life into the most spectacular garden I believe I have had the good fortune to visit.  We arrived early enough the dew was still heavy on the ground, but you could see the mist rising as the water evaporated giving the garden an ethereal quality.

This is a time of year when the gardens are undergoing some changes for the next season and there were several gardeners hard at work removing old plants, tilling the soil to ready the ground for planting, and even fixing a sprinkler! (I can’t even imagine the miles of plumbing in this place – it’s a pretty big garden.)  They were kind enough to stop and chat with us and it was easy to tell these men and women really enjoy their work.

This was my first visit here, but Theo visited about 30 years ago.  He assures me the gardens were as beautiful then as today – only with different plants and colors.  The last stop before leaving the garden was the gift shop, of course, where I bought a couple packets of seeds to try my hand at growing some of these lovely flowers next spring.  We shall see…

Jean

Waiting with about 50 of our closest friends to cross the border into Canada. These border guys sure ask a lot of questions!

Beautiful day for a stroll around Cultus Lake near Chilliwack BC. Perfect weather and so, so peaceful. I imagine it’s not so in the middle of summer. There were a couple of dogs having a grand time splashing in the water and a few humans just relaxing.

Our trip to the Pacific Northwest is off to a great start with clear skies and an amazing view of Mt Rainer!

Jean

The city, not the fragrant liquid.  Established in the first century AD, Cologne began as a Roman provincial capital and became an important trade route in the middle ages.  During WWII, this was one of the most heavily bombed cities in Germany, resulting in loss and evacuation of around 95% of the city’s population.  Fortunately, the Cologne cathedral survived the devastation.  Construction of the cathedral began in the 13th century, but was not completed until the 1880s.  At a height of over 500 ft (to the tallest spire), this is one of the largest churches in the world.

Very near the cathedral is the Hohenzollern Bridge, once used for both rail and road traffic over the Rhine river, but is now only a railway bridge.  This is a spectacular structure on its own, without even considering the hundreds of thousands (millions??) of locks attached to the lower bridge panels!

Jean

From Rudesheim to Koblenz, our drive down the Rhine was filled with spectacular scenery and interesting little towns. I imagine one could spend a week exploring and still not find all the treasures!

First stop for us was the quaint town of Rudesheim am Rhine. We visited a mechanical music museum – an amazing collection of music boxes and instruments.

Theo took a cable car above the hillside vineyards to the Niederwald Monument, where I joined him. The view of the Rhine river valley from there was just beautiful!

Next stop-the Lorelei rock.

Last, but not least, was Marksburg castle – built about 1100 and is part of the Rhine Gorge UNESCO world heritage site.

Jean

Well, no trains…yet. We landed in Frankfurt with a minimum of fuss – although neither of us slept much on the plane. Nevertheless, we managed to find the rental car and make our way into the city. Happily, our hotel had a snug little parking garage (for a fee, of course) and we were content to leave the car behind.

A short while later, we found ourselves on Fressgrass, a street full of stores and restaurants. On one end is the spectacular Frankfurt Opera House, on the other is the Romerplatz, which is the center of the old town. Much of this area was destroyed during WWII, but has since been rebuilt according to the original designs.

To finish off the day in Frankfurt, we hopped on a boat for a relaxing ride along the river Main. This is a town for business and has the skyline to match.

Jean

Happy Father’s Day to all, but especially to Theo, my favorite partner in crime, er, I mean, in adventure! The next one begins today as we take off for Frankfurt. From there, we are driving through much of western and southern Germany, ending up in Switzerland.

We have lots of interesting places on the itinerary, including the town where I lived more years ago than I care to admit.

So, stay tuned to this channel for updates as they happen!

Jean

We arrived by rail in the City of Brotherly Love on Tuesday morning – in the middle of Stella, the surprise nor’easter.  Fortunately, the snowfall amounts were not quite as much as predicted, so we were able to do some of the things on our list – well, after we made a quick stop at the local Macy’s to rummage through the end-of-season selection of gloves and hats.  Slim pickings, but we managed to find what we needed to stay warm.

Inside the Philadelphia train station.  Really a beautiful station.

Andrew, our Uber driver, and his hefty Ford F-350, which had no trouble at all with the piles of snow and slush.

Across from the hotel is the Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul.  The flags you see flapping in the strong wind are country flags of the immigrants who originally settled in this part of Philadelphia.

We went to Independence Hall – where the Founding Fathers met to write the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution.  Sadly, we could not go inside as the buildings were closed because of the weather.  We did get a peek at the Liberty Bell through the windows.  By this time, it was snowing more than flurries and the wind was getting pretty cold.  So back to the hotel to warm up!

Beautiful city at night – especially from the 27th floor!

Up next, Philadelphia with clearer skies!

Jean

March 14, 2017 marked my father’s 95th birthday.  Those of us who are, ahem, of a “certain age,”understand how very precious it is to still have a living parent — and to have one reach this milestone is amazing indeed!  We are grateful for his continued good health and sharp wit.  We look forward to many more years of his stories and birthday parties.

Of course, such a momentous occasion required a celebration of equal size.  We planned a gathering of family and friends with a Roaring 20’s theme — but when I say “we,” I mean my sisters and niece did most of the leg work since I live half-way across the country.  Nevertheless, it was great fun to come up with costumes for Theo, our youngest son, and me.  My dad comes from a very large family, so even just immediate family nets a large group.  We had a great time catching up with everyone and by the time we stowed the last decoration and bit of leftover food, we were all pleasantly exhausted!

Not sure what we can do to top this when we plan his 100th birthday party, but we are up for the challenge!

Jean